THIS BLOG RATES THE S&P 500 BUY/SELL/OR HOLD EACH DAY WITH 2-GOALS FOR LONG TERM INVESTMENTS: (1) PRESERVE CAPITAL (2) BEAT THE S&P 500.
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Monday, April 24, 2017

“Led by slower growth in employment-related indicators,
the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) moved down to +0.08 in March
from +0.27 in February. Two of the four broad categories of indicators that
make up the index decreased from February, and one category made a negative
contribution to the index in March. The index’s three-month moving average,
CFNAI-MA3, decreased to +0.03 in March from +0.16 in February, but remained
positive for the fourth consecutive month.” Press release at…

“…late last week we advised participants to get their
“buy lists” ready because a rally may be in the cards. We still feel that way.
Indeed, since being in cautionary mode from the first week in February our
models took a decided turn for the better last week despite the backdrop of
nasty geopolitical events, mixed economic reports, and some earnings misses.
Our sense is that over the next few weeks the lack of “selling pressure” is
going to allow stocks to attempt to lift. While we don’t think it will be a
vigorous “lift,” it should still be a lift.” Commentary at…

Monday we had another statistically significant up-day
(based on statistical analysis of daily market volatility) and that is followed
by a down-day about 62% of the time.That may be true Tuesday (there could be some profit taking), but I
think we should see a run to all-time highs and then higher over the next several
months. It may be slow due to the sell-in-May-and-go-away mantra, but overall I
think the markets will move higher in the near term. The last 3-statistically
significant days have all been “up” with each one stronger than the one before.
That suggests more buying ahead, although probably not straight up.

We’ve been watching the chart recently and the Index broke
decisively above the 50-dMA and above the red-line I had drawn on the charts –
looks bullish to me. My Sum of 16-Indicators was -8 a week ago; today it is +8.That’s a decent bullish swing.It was +2 yesterday; so there was improvement
prior to today’s big jump up. Market Internals look good and new-high/new-low
data has improved and is looking bullish.

Bollinger Bands are at the upper band; that’s usually a
bearish sign, but the bands are very close together and RSI is relatively low,
so the Index can move higher. If it happens, that will push the upper Bollinger
Band higher. Bottom line is that Bollinger Bands may not be giving a good
reading now.

I must say, I never
expeced the French election to have this much effect on the markets.Apparently, the fate of the EU rides on this
one French election.This is only the
first round, but I suppose the strong showing of the moderate candidate
suggests the right-wing Marie Le Pen is less likely to prevail in the 2-person
runnoff that ius coming. One wonders whether this is just a temporary relief
rally with more selling to come. It could be, but the numbers suggest
otherwise.

As far as a near-term correction, it looks more like
“no-correction” is the call now. I have shifted to moderately bullish.

CURRENT RANKING OF 15 ETFs (Ranked Daily)

The top ranked ETF receives 100%. The rest are then
ranked based on their momentum relative to the leading ETF.While momentum isn’t stock performance per
se, momentum is closely related to stock performance. For example, over the 4-months
from Oct thru mid-February 2016, the number 1 ranked Financials (XLF) outperformed
the S&P 500 by nearly 20%.

*For additional background on the ETF ranking system see
NTSM Page at…

I was shellacked in recent trades so no short-term
trading for a while. I have been a passable
(not great) trader in recent years, but last year and the start of this one
have been disastrous.

MONDAY MARKET INTERNALS (NYSE DATA)

Market Internals are
positive on the market.

Market Internals are a decent trend-following analysis of
current market action, but should not be used alone for short term trading. They
are usually right, but they are often late.They are most useful when they diverge from the Index.In 2014, using these internals alone would
have made a 9% return vs. 13% for the S&P 500 (in on Positive, out on
Negative – no shorting).

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About Me

I am an engineer with a lifelong interest in "playing with numbers" so what could be more fun than trying to develop a system that beats the stock market? Well, lots of things, but I decided to do this anyway.
While I am not a finance-professional, or professional investor, I have developed some skills.
I competed in two CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio contests finishing in the top 4% in 2008 (34,320th of 800,000) and the top 0.1% (448th of 500,000) in 2009. More importantly, I managed to sell out of my retirement accounts at or near the top in 2000 and 2007 and bought close enough to the bottom that I didn’t lose too much sleep. (Even Bill Gates lost SOME sleep.)
I hope that my thoughts will help you achieve your investing goals. Please remember that my ideas are free and there may be times when my ideas are worth less than what you paid.